Eclipse Moments (Odd Socks #15)
Did the eclipse exceed your expectations?... the folly of S.A.B.L.E. ... and more
Welcome to Odd Socks Issue #15
I write about stuff that interests me, puts a smile on my face, or could use some clarity amidst the noise. Each issue includes two original articles plus bonus sections. Enjoy!
If not already a subscriber, please click to join to get this free biweekly newsletter in your inbox every other Wednesday!
Eclipse Moments
I’ve experienced… three?… eclipses in my lifetime, and they are certainly visually interesting. The one this week I wouldn’t rank high among those, not from the visuals, but for not experiencing my favorite part: the world as I'm seeing it at the moment goes dark in the middle of the day. I was surprised how non-dark it was, even though I'm close, but not within the totality band. Our area's 98.3% totality sounded like near-dark, yet was merely dusky daytime.
Those who were fortunate (and brave) to travel into the totality band got the full experience of the natural world’s denizens chattering and coming out for the routine of night ... only to be fooled in short order. Back when I experienced the night-during-day moment, I remember wondering what it must have been like for early humans lacking the science awareness and forewarning of an eclipse. How many went loco thinking the world was ending?
I laughed at the meme posted yesterday: “Only Americans can think rapture is about to happen from an eclipse.” Um, science moment: a solar eclipse happens somewhere over the Earth every 18 months or so. By that measure, and if you believe those rapture nuts, surely millenias ago the Earth would have shed itself of humans, plus that rapture place long overfilled.
And then there're the reports of price-gouging for everything from parking, to hotels, to food within the totality band. Mother Nature must either groan from such capitalism, or shake her head thinking, “Those crazy humans again …” We all know, of course, Mother Nature always has the last karmic laugh on such things.
Here’s hoping everyone reading this got their (correct) glasses on and experienced yesterday’s moments. Still, by any measure, a unique memory, one that, unless willing to fly all over the world now and then, most of us can count on one hand with some fingers uncounted.
There Is A Difference
As a bona fide, card-carrying stationery nerd, I often try to explain to some people why a Blackwing pencil is worth every penny over a Wal-Mart #2 no-name pencil. Or why I spend what I do for the notebooks and journals I use, versus picking a ruled, spiral cheapie at the dollar store?
Fair question … until you’ve tasted the good stuff.
Usually, it’s easy to explain by letting them try my Blackwing in my Blackwing Slate journal, or one of my favorite fountain pens in my Tomoe River paper journal. At least most of them can feel the difference. Not all, however, are so convinced as to change their choice of tools and paper. Can’t blame them. Unless they can relate the good stuff to nourishing their creative soul, they’ll keep using whatever’s lying around … and cheap.
What one does with a writing tool/writing notebook certainly influences choices. Scribbling only shopping and to-do lists in life doesn’t warrant the better stuff. Like fine wine, if all you want is a utilitarian quick drunk, you don’t buy the good stuff.
Whichever apt metaphor you prefer: “falling down the rabbit hole,” or “coming over to the dark side,” being a stationery nerd has a terminal “illness:” S.A.B.L.E. (Stationery Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy). This pragmatic thinking lands in one’s mind as “There’s no f*king way I’ll ever use all my stationery stash in my lifetime.”
A true-blue stationery nerd, of course, ignores such crazy thoughts. We also try not to think that our heirs someday, being unaware of what some of this stuff is worth, will simply donate it en masse. At least there’s some solace that someday, some budding stationery nerd will happen upon our good stuff in a thrift store. Almost makes me hope I could selectively reincarnate as that person.
Nota bene: The image above shows some appropriate stickers available in my shop, Notegeist.
Odd Socks: a free, alternate-Wednesdays newsletter written by Gary Varner. Subscribe for fresh, emailed new releases. Product links (when they appear) are affiliates, but don’t affect your purchase price yet help support Odd Socks.
Need some cool stationery stuff, like Blackwing pencils, Field Notes notebooks, and much more? Then stop reading this and visit my shop: Notegeist.